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Hi I'm Holly Rathfon

I am a student studying to be an elementary school teacher. I'm a Mormon.

About Me

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In high school I was the only girl member of the Church. Sometimes I felt alone, but then I realized I had the Holy Ghost with me as my constant companion and my two brothers who are also Mormons.
I attended college and love the wonderful Spirit that can be felt there on campus. I am majoring in Elementary Education and hope to teach 3rd or 4th graders some day.
I like to Ballroom dance, even though I am no expert. I love to spend time with my family. I love camping and short hikes. I love to read and have a passion for literature and literacy.
I love to cook and bake, especially to try new dishes and to bake bread and pies.
I served as a full-time missionary for 18 months for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where I taught people about our Loving Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ and how they can know of their love and how they can someday return to their presence and to live with their families forever.

Why I am a Mormon

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It creates this everlasting Joy in my life where I would feel emptiness if I were to leave the Church. I just love the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love the security it brings to my heart when I follow the commandments. I know that the standards of the Church, such as the dress and grooming standards, are in place for our protection and comfort. I love the inner peace I feel when I enter the Holy Temple of the Lord.
Overall, I just always feel this happiness and joy and peace that comes with being a Mormon.
I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) is here upon the earth again. I know the Book of Mormon to be a true and correct book.

How I live my faith

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For three weeks in Rexburg, Idaho, I was able to be a counselor for 8-12 Mormon girls at a week long Youth Camp, known as Especially For Youth. These girls come from every background imaginable, all unique and different. But we all shared one thing: We are all Daughters of God and I know that God loves each one of them.
Throughout the week, I taught them devotionals or short lessons as well as lessons that they may not have known they were learning at the time. We could feel the Holy Ghost with us throughout the whole entire week. At the end of the week, the counselors (leaders of the youth) taught them to write down goals that they would like to take with them when they went home and to work on them.
Something that I discovered and learned throughout all three weeks is that each girl I was a counselor/leader for, was for a reason. I also was able to see each of them through Christ's eyes. I felt some of the sorrow that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ feel when they see one of their children or sisters in emotional, spiritual, or mental pain.

Why is it important for us to take care of our bodies? Why are our bodies called temples of God in the Bible?

Holly Rathfon

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"Man is composed of two parts: a mortal body, and an immortal spirit. Since the spirit and the body together are the soul of man (see Doctrine and Covenants 88:15), what affects one affects the other."
Our bodies were given to us as a gift from God to house our own immortal spirit while in this mortal life. We need to take care of that gift and not abuse it. Abusing, such as dressing inappropriately, consuming harmful substances, and not eating healthy, can damage our spirits as well as our body. And if it is abused too much, then our bodies can be taken away from us.Show moreShow less

What is the First Vision?

Holly Rathfon

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After Christ and his apostles died, truth was changed and distorted. Many churches were created by men, the bible was changed as it was interpreted by many people who did not have inspiration from God, and there were no prophets on the earth. Also, the priesthood, the power to act in God's name, was taken from the earth.
In the early 1800s, A young farm boy, by the name of Joseph Smith, was confused by the number of churches that were on the earth at the time. He had a question, which church was right and which should he join or if any were right at all.
One day as he was reading in the Bible, in James 1:5, it said, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraidth not; and it shall be given him." This is what he decided to do, to ask God.
In the spring of 1820, Joseph Smith walked to a grove of trees near his home and started to offer up his first vocal, kneeling prayer. As he prayed, he describes what happened next in his own words:
"I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. . .
When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and
glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!”.
Joseph Smith, in reality, saw God our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
This is the First Vision.Show moreShow less